Restricted - The beginnings of Pidgin, used as a fundamental necessity when contact between language groups (English and native) is limited.Complicated stuff for such a seemingly simple language set!Īs an idea of how language evolves, from 'no common language' between English and native groups, to 'Pidgin' languages to 'Creole', the tongue follows four main stages of development. Scholarly debate remains however, as to what point a Pidgin language can evolve to become a Creole and replace a native language over the generations. Historically this occurs in situations where native language is seen as subordinate, or banned in the case of slavery, and is the point where Pidgin arguably moves to become a Creole, or a stable, 'nativised' language.
Pidgins are also not used as mother tongues, though over time and generations, the language evolves, is adopted and changes to gradually become a first language for new generations. A few well placed words and gestures were all that was originally needed, and the language evolved from there.īecause of their spontaneous adaptability, Pidgins are unlike other languages in that they can be as structured or as unstructured as needed - there are no strict rules as such. Taking more of a 'baby-speak' approach, Pidgins can seem to imitate toddler speech or phrasing (having no tones, simple vowels etc) - and in effect are used for the same purpose - to get what you want quickly, using whatever communication and terms of reference you can. For example in Tok Pisin, ' gras bilong het' (or grass belong head) simply means 'hair'.
Formed from numerous languages and influences, Pidgin is a wide term covering a range of regional hybrids, which evolved through historical events such as the spread of Empires, settlement, migration and international trade.įound in Africa (West African Pidgins include Nigerian Pidgin, Cameroonian Pidgin, Sierra Leone Krio), Indonesia (Tok Pisin, spoken in Papua New Guinea), parts of Asia and the Caribbean, English derived Pidgins are inventive, innovative, and often quite literal. The mongrel language of the world, and a patchwork tongue of trade, migration, empires and historical movement, Pidgin English, in its varying forms is a lingua franca - a simplified bridge language evolving through necessity, after extended contact between groups without a single common language. "How bodi? How you dey?" Or if you "no sabi" (don't understand).
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